1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a suspension arrangement for a boom lift assembly and boom that are mounted on an agricultural sprayer, and more specifically, relates to a suspension arrangement configured to float the boom lift assembly and boom independent of a chassis of the agricultural sprayer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Boom assemblies are commonly used on agricultural vehicles or towed implements (e.g., sprayers or planters, etc.) to dispense seed, fertilizer, insecticide, herbicide, etc. and other miscellaneous agricultural materials. The boom assembly is usually mounted on a chassis moveably supported on a wheel assembly to be motorized or towed across the field. The typical boom assembly is configured to pivot or fold between operative and inoperative positions relative to the boom support vehicle. In its operative position, the boom assembly commonly extends in a laterally outward direction from the boom support vehicles up to a distance of ninety-feet or larger such that the agricultural applicator covers a large surface area with each pass across a field. The weight of the boom assembly generally correlates with its operative length.
Upon completing distribution of the agricultural materials to the field, a conventional boom lift assembly (e.g., manual, hydraulic, pneumatic, etc.) is employed in a known manner to raise each of the booms to a raised, inoperative position. Once raised, manually or automatically operated pivot mechanisms (e.g. hydraulic, pneumatic, etc.) are employed to swing, pivot or fold each of the booms to a folded position for transport. The preferred folded position of the booms is generally parallel to the direction of travel of the support vehicle such that each of the booms and the support vehicle has a narrow profile for ready transport from the field to a roadway.
However, known boom lift assemblies in movable support of a boom on a mobile chassis of an agricultural sprayer have drawbacks. For example, during normal operation of the boom assembly in the field, the boom, the boom lift assembly and the chassis encounter miscellaneous impact or stress forces associated with traveling over rough terrain and/or moving the boom between the raised and lowered positions described above. Although known sprayers have a suspension to generally float the boom in general alignment with the terrain, this suspension does isolate these miscellaneous impact forces from transferring from the boom and/or boom lift assembly to the chassis of the sprayer. These impact forces increase opportunities for failure of the chassis and/or the boom lift assembly.
Therefore, there is a need or desire for a suspension arrangement that is overcomes the foregoing difficulties and drawbacks of the prior art. The suspension arrangement should also be simple and reliable to operate and economical to manufacture. In addition, the suspension arrangement should be configured to be utilized with a wide variety of motorized or towed boom lift implements in addition to those related to agriculture.